Tante Amalie

Our last Veendam cruise was pretty decent---better than most HAL ships. However, the cafeteria was very poor, so if you are going to eat there, I would be cautious. Try to shop for a bargain if you can.. It's best to wait until the last minute. HAL usually cuts its prices to very low levels. If you book in advance, you can pay 2 or 3 times as much as other people. HAL has been on a major cost cutting binge lately, so they only are attractive if you get a bargain.

We've been on many cruises over the years, and the single worst cruise we've had was on the Westerdam. HAL has really dropped in quality, but the Westerdam was the worst. Poor food, poor service and very crowded. I can't recommend the Westerdam to anyone. I would give the Getaway a try. I don't think you have anything to lose.

I would recommend that you shop for a bargain. HAL has really dropped in quality, so I can't recommend them, but if they have a good deal, I say go for it. If you wait until the last minute, you can really get a steal on HAL. Otherwise, I can't see them as any advantage over the others.

Don't Worry- There is no real quality difference between Holland America and NCL at this point. In the past, I would have said that NCL would be a step down from HAL, but things have changed quite a bit. HAL is now a solidly mainstream cruise line and there is no real quality difference between HAL and NCL. There are differences to be sure, but you will probably like some things better on NCL than HAL (and vice versa). The biggest difference is in clientele and the on board activities. For food and service, there is no real difference any more.

I wouldn't go so far as to say you've made a mistake, but I would recommend that you lower your expectations. The last few cruises we've had on Vista ships (including Noordam) have been pretty disappointing. HAL is obviously cutting way back on quality and service across the board, but for some reason it seems worse on the Vistas.

How you feel about the cruise probably depends mostly on your attitude and expectations. I recommend that you expect the worst and hope for the best. Hopefully you got a good deal on the price-- that's the only reason I can see to cruise on HAL these days. They do have some incredible bargain basement prices. Unfortunately, that's probably why the quality has gotten so bad.

Good Luck. I hope it goes OK for you and that you have fun.

My husband and I returned to Holland America this year after years of cruising on other lines (mostly Carnival, NCL and RC). We used to sail on Holland and remembered it as a premium line and quite luxurious. We were looking forward to a splurge and more upscale experience. We were surprised to find that there was very little difference between Holland and the others. In fact, I think the food and service was even inferior some of the time. At our dinner table, the main topic of conversation was how much Holland had gone downhill.

Do you think these changes are permanent, or is Holland going through a bad phase? Might it get better when the economy improves?

If I understand the question, I would say yes. But I wish they would get rid of smoking on verandas. I wouldn't let the smoking stop me from sailing on Holland, but I see it as a disadvantage. I don't think smoking is Holland's biggest disadvantage. I think the reduction in quality of food and service is a bigger problem.

I think this discussion may be making a big deal out of nothing. On our last cruise, we met a couple who taught us a neat trick to avoid any problems. If you don't want to be forced to dress in a particular way for the dining room, they said they just wait until the Mater Dee is busy with another couple and they walk in and sit down at their table. He claimed he never brings a coat and hasn't had any problems. As long as he had his coat with him he would wear it, but I may never get my husband to bring his sportcoat again. ;)

We are switching cruise lines because of the terrible drop in quality of Holland, not because of smoking, although I wish they would ban it on verandas.

I don't understand something. The smoking threads have thousands of views and many pages of discussion. Why do people think it should be reduced or banned? Obviously, the smoking threads are among the most popular topics. Why don't the people who are bored simply read other things instead of telling us we shouldn't discuss this topic? I don't get it.

That is an excellent suggestion. Why force people to dress up if they don't want to?

I like reading the smoking threads, even though I'm not a smoker.

I'm not comfortable asking a smoker to put out a cig, even if its bothering me.

I don't know if putting your jacket on the chair is the official policy, but it seemed like a lot of men were doing it.

Before our cruise, I was reading these boards to see what the dress code is and I convinced my husband to wear a jacket. It seemed like Holland was pretty formal. After the trip we realized its very casual and you shouldn't worry about it. I didn't see any shorts in the dining room, but there were jeans and hats. As far as I could tell, none of the passengers or staff cared one way or the other.

I also heard that you don't have to wear a jacket if you don't want to. I think you can just put it on the back of your chair after you sit down. I guess it doesn't matter if the loaner fits or not. That doesn't make a lot of sense. Why do you have to have a jacket if you don't have to wear it? Seems kind of silly.

On our Alaska cruise this summer, it was very informal. It seemed to me that just about anything was possible. Some men wore polo shirts and khakis. I'm not sure anyone is enforcing any dress code at all. I don't think you'll have a problem no matter what. It didn't seem the other passengers cared either. I was surprised because I haven't cruised in a while, but I guess getting dressed up is a thing of the past.

All the wonderful people and information.

Have a wonderful cruise